


Read My Mind

by sunnydalewerewolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, Everyone Is Alive, Fantasizing, In the sense that Derek reads people's minds without them knowing idk, Invasion of Privacy, M/M, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2703275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnydalewerewolf/pseuds/sunnydalewerewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The headphones are enough to drown out the hum of thoughts on the subway. Or at least they usually are. That is until today, when a guy with what Derek swears are the loudest thoughts he has ever heard sits across from him just after Derek takes his seat.</p><p>Or, the one in which Derek is a mind-reading werewolf, and Stiles likes to spend his morning commute fantasizing about the ridiculously attractive guy sitting across from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Read My Mind

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, as usual, so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> There are some privacy issues in here that center around the fact that Derek willingly chooses to listen in on Stiles' and other people's thoughts even though he could probably tune them out. I don't really know how to tag a warning for that, though. 
> 
> The title is a song from the Killers, which came to mind after I'd written the fic and was trying to figure out a name for it. I am obviously not super creative when it comes to titles. Please forgive me.
> 
> This fic honestly makes no sense, so please suspend disbelief if you can. I've also gotta say that I think being a mind-reader in real life would suck a lot more than it does for Derek. Buffy in "Earshot" comes to mind.

Derek Hale has gotten used to overhearing thoughts he has no particular desire to hear. At this point, he knows way more about his family members than any person should have the right. Even though his family became aware of his ability when he was only three years old, it took until he was sixteen for Deaton, their emissary, to be able to develop a charm that would ward off his ability to read their minds.

His family, as well as his only three friends in the world, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, all know about Derek’s power and wear the charm either around their necks or in the form of a bracelet.

Unfortunately, try as he might, Derek can’t spend all day cooped up with his pack. And as successful as Deaton was in creating a charm to shield people from Derek’s ability, he’s had no luck making one for Derek to wear to turn his power off. So when Derek goes out into public, he hears people’s thoughts, usually just blurring together into a hum unless Derek chooses to pick one out and focus on it.

Public transportation is the worst.

His daily commute to his office building in the city, where he works as a social worker, is the worst part of his day. When he’s in crowded places, the hum of thoughts and voices can become almost too much to handle. It would have been easy for Derek to become a shut-in, but the incident with Kate as a teenager, in addition to what happened with Isaac and his father, made him realize that there are some fucked up people out there, and sometimes they don’t get what they deserve. Derek uses his ability to help people in the best way he can.

Every day, before he leaves his house he sets his headphones as loud as he can stand them, which isn’t all that loud considering his enhanced werewolf hearing. The headphones are enough to drown out the hum of thoughts on the subway.

Or at least they usually are. That is until today, when a guy with what Derek swears are the loudest thoughts he has ever heard sits across from him just after Derek takes his seat, and then Derek’s mind is flooded with the image of himself _taking his shirt off, sinking to his knees_ —Derek snaps his head up, eyes locking on the guy’s.

Except the guy isn’t even looking at him, is staring down at his hands instead. In the back of his mind, Derek is still getting the boy’s fantasy. _Derek unbuckling the guy’s pants, opening his mouth once he’s slid them down, not wasting any time to pull his boxers down._ Derek takes a moment to look at him, taking in his adorably upturned nose and the moles that dot his cheeks, the bedhead that makes Derek think that he just woke up and left his house without looking in the mirror. He’s young, but not too young, probably somewhere in his early twenties. The scent of arousal pours off him, enough that as a werewolf he would have figured out what was going on in the guy’s mind even if he couldn’t read his thoughts. Of course, if he were a normal werewolf, he wouldn’t know that the scent was a result of the guy thinking about Derek.

The guy glances back up at Derek, eyes widening when he notices Derek’s eyes on him. _Derek looking up at him, eyes wide as sucks the tip of his cock into his mouth._ The guy looks away.

_Stop it Stiles, you’re on public transportation. Calm the fuck down._

Stiles? Derek really hopes that’s the man’s name and not just what he calls his penis.

Derek struggles not to smile in amusement when he notices the guy willing his erection down.

_Okay, okay, pledge of allegiance backwards. Shit. I don’t know the pledge of allegiance backwards. Forwards should work, though. I pledge allegiance…_

As a general rule, Derek doesn’t listen into people’s thoughts for longer than he has to. In fact, he usually goes out of his way to block them out, sometimes yelling nonsense in his own head in an effort to not hear them. With Stiles, though, Derek can’t help it. The guy’s thoughts are loud. Really loud. Almost obnoxiously loud.

He realizes he’s staring when Stiles glances back at him, his internal recitation of the pledge of allegiance halting.

_Shit, how is someone even that attractive. What in the actual fuck? What kind of genetic lottery did you win?! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS._

Derek almost worries that the guy knows about his powers, but he knows that isn't what's going on. Stiles is just weird.

_It should be illegal to dress that well when you’re that attractive. Or maybe it should be the law…all attractive people need to dress like models for expensive brands…but then they would be even more powerful. No, they should have to dress like slobs. Even the frickin playing field._

It goes on like that until they arrive at Derek’s stop, Stiles’ thoughts darting from one topic to the next, all somehow related to how attractive Derek is. Derek struggles to follow Stiles’ sporadically linked trains of thought, feeling guilty about the invasion of privacy, but he doesn’t think he could tear his attention away even if he wanted to.

When Derek gets up to leave, it takes a moment for Stiles to notice.

_Aw shit that ass was sculpted by Michelangelo himself and hot damn am I grateful thank you Jesus amen—is that sacrilegious? Super sorry about that God, I’m just a huge fan of your work. Great job on that one._

Derek smiles the entire way to work.

*****

He’s almost forgotten about Stiles by the next day. Derek doesn’t want to be conceited, but he knows what he looks like. He’s overheard more than his fair share of people having fantasies starring him. It’s one of the perks of the gig, being able to know exactly who has a crush on him.

He doesn’t really expect to see him again, so when he hears Stiles' loud thoughts as Stiles walks up and stops a few feet away from him, Derek is surprised.

_OH MY GOD it’s Sexy Stubble. Two days in a row. God do I hope this becomes a daily occurrence, it almost makes this stupid commute worth it. Moving to New York was the best decision ever._

So he just moved to New York. Interesting. But Sexy Stubble? Derek finds himself self-consciously scratching his jaw. He hadn’t realized that his stubble is his defining feature.

Of course, it’s his mistake to call attention to his stubble, because that just sends Stiles off on a fantasy where Derek rubs his face up and down Stiles’ body, making him desperate as Derek refuses to give him what he wants. Fantasy Stiles is begging for a release by the time the train pulls up, and the only pause in Stiles’ daydream is when he frantically tries to get a seat where he can see Derek. He succeeds, and Derek struggles not to find it adorable how happy it makes him. The train hasn’t even started moving when Stiles’ daydream resumes.

By the time they pull up to Derek’s stop, he’s awkwardly hard in his slacks, willing his erection to go away.

*****

It becomes a daily occurrence, Stiles sitting across from him on the subway, fantasizing, but it doesn’t take long for the fantasies to become about more than just sex. Stiles wonders about Derek’s name, imagines Derek sitting down next to him and introducing himself. For some reason, Stiles has decided that Derek’s name is Miguel, and Derek struggles not to laugh the first time Stiles uses that in a fantasy.

Honestly, Miguel is so much better than Derek in every way. He can carry on a conversation, isn’t awkward or stilted when he speaks. He’s nice and even funny sometimes. He’s gentle with Stiles but also ridiculously good in bed.

Miguel is very experienced, which Derek tries not to be bothered by. He falls extremely short of Stiles' expectations in that department. With his ability, it’s always felt wrong trying to have sex with people. He’s only ever been with Paige, who knew about his ability and had a charm of her own to shield her thoughts. They’d been together for three years before they got into a huge fight because even though she knew, her friends and family didn’t, and it bothered her to know that he could read their minds.

The biggest difference between Miguel and Derek, though? Miguel isn’t constantly invading Stiles’ privacy by intruding on his fantasies.

So despite how much he knows Stiles wants him to, he doesn’t make a move to talk to him, rarely even looks in Stiles’ direction. One of the few times he does, Stiles becomes nervous and excited, internally freaking out over how gorgeous Derek’s smile is, wondering if maybe Derek might not be opposed to Stiles trying to talk to him.

It’s messing with Derek’s head, honestly. Stiles has imagined numerous scenarios where Derek and he end up happily together—usually resulting in some mind-blowing sex—and it makes Derek _want_. He wants to be Miguel, Stiles’ dream guy. He wants to spend all his time with Stiles without feeling guilty about invading his privacy or worrying that Stiles will freak out when he finds out Derek’s secret.

But he isn’t that guy. He can’t be that guy.

He allows himself to indulge in listening in on Stiles’ thoughts, but he refuses to take it any further than that.

*****

A few weeks after his initial encounter with Stiles, he’s with Isaac in the living room of their apartment. Boyd and Erica are over, and they’re watching some reality show that Derek honestly can’t be bothered to pay attention to. Erica stormed in earlier and turned the TV on, yelling about how she was missing her show. When Derek complained about her taking over his living room and turned to Boyd to back him up, his friend had just shrugged. Judging by the way he’s just as focused on the events on screen as Erica is, Derek thinks he’s probably just as obsessed with the show as she is. Even Isaac seems to be growing interested. Figures.

Laura walks in without knocking, Cora trailing behind her.

“Great news guys!” she yells, taking a seat on the armrest next to Derek.

“We’re watching something, Laura,” Erica complains grumpily, but Derek jumps on his chance.

“No we’re not. Tell us the news.”

Erica looks betrayed, but she reaches out for the remote and presses pause all the same.

“This had better be good.”

Laura looks downright giddy as she turns to Cora and asks, “Do you want to tell them?”

Cora stares at her older sister blankly, her bored expression a stark contrast to Laura’s excitement.

“Go ahead,” Cora mutters.

“New pack!” Laura yells not a moment later. At everyone’s looks of confusion, Laura explains, “There’s a new pack of wolves in town. Well, there actually aren’t that many wolves. I think there are two? Three? Something like that. But mom says they also have a werecoyote, a kitsune and even a—get this—banshee!”

The room is deadly quiet as they all take this in. It’s rare for packs to move. Derek and his friends had caused quite a stir in the New York supernatural community years ago when they had all decided to move to the city for college. Despite the fact that they weren't even from that far away, just a couple hours outside of the city, there had been negotiations for months beforehand, meetings with all the local packs to ensure they wouldn’t be stepping on any toes. For a new pack to just move in without announcing their presence beforehand is almost unheard of.

Erica speaks first.

“So, what? Are we doing a little recon? Making sure they’re not a threat we need to take out? They sound pretty dangerous.”

Laura looks shocked as she quickly responds, “No! What? No way. They’re good. Harmless. Mom apparently knows the pack. Remember that rabid omega attack that happened in California a few years ago?” They all nod. They had good relations with all of the major California packs, and as the alpha of one of the most powerful packs in North America, Talia had taken a trip out to California to help counsel the new werewolves. When she returned, she assured the pack that they didn’t need to worry about anything. Still, it had shaken the supernatural community up a bit. “Well, apparently these are the victims.”

“And what about the werecoyote and kitsune?” Boyd asks, raising an eyebrow at Laura.

Laura pauses to think about that. “I didn’t actually ask about them. But mom assures me they’re fine.”

“And she didn’t think to tell us any of this?” Derek asks.

Laura shrugs. “She told me now. And I haven’t even mentioned the best part!” They all wait, and she explains, “I’ve invited them all to dinner at my place tomorrow!”

The yelling starts immediately.

*****

Which is how they all find themselves in Laura’s apartment the next day. The pack all lives in the same building, preferring to stay close to each other, so the walk there is just down the hallway. They all had to help Laura rearrange her living room, moving furniture from the other’s apartments so they could fit the other pack in—a pack that apparently includes two humans in addition to the two werewolves, kitsune, werecoyote, and banshee.

It’s eight on the dot when a knock sounds on the door, but there's only silence for a moment after the Door opens. Derek turns to see Isaac staring breathlessly at the woman who stands there. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to notice the man’s awkwardness.

“Hi! Is this Laura’s apartment?”

Derek can hear how nervous she is, and to Isaac’s luck, Derek also knows that Allison is just as attracted to him as he is to her.

Laura walks in from the living room and grins.

“It is! Are you Lydia?” Just as the woman opens her mouth to tell them that no, she is not, a woman with fiery red hair walks up and stands next to Allison, a smirk on her face.

“No, that would be me. This lovely woman is Allison." 

Lydia is cold and calculating but not mean, assessing everyone within moments with shockingly good accuracy. Her thoughts move almost too fast for Derek to keep up.

 _How did I not see this coming_ she thinks when she glances between Isaac and Allison, quickly taking note of their interest. Derek has to bite down on a laugh.

That calls her attention to Derek, and Derek waits for the worst as she glances him up and down, surprised when the only thing she thinks is _Nice._

Lydia has them all figured out in the span of moments, and Laura beckons them in. Behind them follow two other women and a man.

Derek notices the kitsune first, sees the electricity buzzing around her head in the shape of a fox, hears her nervously reassuring herself that _there’s nothing to be nervous about_.  _Nothing. It's just dinner._

Next is the werecoyote, who Derek can’t help but overhearing doesn’t particularly want to be here. _Never had to do stuff like this in the wild_ , she thinks, and Derek can’t help but be intrigued by that, wishes he could ask about it without freaking her out.

Finally, there’s the man, a werewolf, who seems to want to be here even less than the werecoyote.

 _Never letting Lydia talk me into shit like this again_ , Derek hears him think, though they both already know that’s a lie.

“Sorry, a couple of us are running late. They had class earlier, and it ran a bit late,” Allison apologizes, and Laura is quick to assure her that it’s okay.

“We aren’t quite done with dinner anyway. Come, come, let’s have a seat,” she says, ushering them into the living room, while Derek just walks into the kitchen.

Boyd turns to him from the where he stands in front of the stove and raises an eyebrow, the question clear on his face. Isaac and Erica both stop what they're doing to stare at Derek too, all of them waiting for a reaction. Derek’s ability comes in handy when meeting new packs, because he immediately knows what their intentions are. Derek nods subtly, and Boyd breathes a sigh of relief, turning to Erica, who’s staring at him in suspicion. Out of the entire pack, she and Cora have definitely been the two who are most suspicious of the newcomers.

Boyd and Erica have a stare-down for a few moments before Erica sighs, breathing out a, “Fine.”

There’s another knock at the door, and Derek goes to open it.

He’s met with a man with a crooked jaw and excited grin.

Derek begins to welcome him in, but before he can he’s met with a loud sound that has become too familiar to him.

_Oh my god this isn’t happening. Of course he’s a fucking werewolf. How is this my life?_

His eyes shoot up to meet Stiles’, mouth nearly watering when he’s met by the familiar scent of arousal coming off the boy and the brief image of him lunging forward and pushing Stiles against the wall as he kisses him passionately.

 _Not the time or place, penis. There are werewolves everywhere. They’ll know. Stupid werewolf senses. Wait oh my god he can probably_ tell _. He knows. He’s probably known this entire time oh my god this is the worst day of my life._

Stiles friend looks between them in confusion, and Derek struggles to focus on his thoughts instead of Stiles’.

Unfortunately, they’re not much better, because he is more observant than Derek would like.

_I don’t get it I mean he isn’t that attractive, what is wrong with—Oh my god. Sexy stubble. Sexy stubble! This is sexy stubble._

Derek tries not to be too excited about that. Apparently Stiles had been talking about him.

Stiles' friend grows gleeful as Stiles’ mortification increases.

“Hi! I’m Scott. This is my friend Stiles. It’s nice to meet you,” he says, holding out his hand for Derek to shake.

_God Scott even touched him before I did, how pathetic am I. But of course he probably wants to get the hell away from me right now because I’ve basically been assaulting his senses on the subway every morning for weeks._

Derek tries to ignore him, not wanting to give anything away, but it’s difficult. Scott’s already noticed something’s off about him.

_Oh my god he’s just as focused on Stiles as Stiles is on him. I told Stiles he had probably noticed him too I need to let him know._

“Derek Hale. Please come in,” he says, moving aside to let them walk past him.

_Derek Hale, huh? Derek. Hale. Derek…not Miguel. Derek._

Derek smiles at Stiles’ apparent approval of his name and then coughs roughly when the thoughts immediately turn to Stiles loudly moaning his name as he fucks him. The boy is fucking shameless.

Derek looks up to see Boyd staring at him from the kitchen doorway, a look of disapproval on his face. Derek might be the mind-reader, but Boyd has always been able to see right through him. He probably knows exactly what’s going on in Derek’s mind right now.

“Food’s ready,” Boyd says, turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

Dinner is awkward, to say the least. They do the usual introduction thing, and Derek learns that the kitsune is named Kira, the werecoyote is Malia, and the cocky werewolf is Jackson.

Derek doesn’t participate much in the conversation, which isn’t unusual for him. Instead, he tunes into everyone’s thoughts, desperately trying and failing to ignore Stiles’ internal monologue. He catches bits and pieces, learns that Scott and Allison are deeply in love, though both are also attracted to Isaac, which he thinks could probably play out pretty interestingly. Lydia and Jackson don’t show it, but they’re just as in love. To be honest, both of them kind of scare Derek a bit. Lydia’s too smart for him not to be wary of her.

He also learns that Scott is a True Alpha, something that impresses all of Derek's pack members, since it's something that is extremely rare. 

Derek finds himself tuning into Malia’s thoughts the most, finding them interesting. He also doesn’t feel as bad about listening to her, since he gets the feeling she wouldn’t hesitate to voice any of her thoughts if prompted. She’s mostly bored, not really understanding the point of the dinner. She likes the food but wishes there were more meat. She can sense Kira's agitation and grows increasingly angry that the dinner is making Kira nervous. She puts a hand on the kitsune’s thigh after a while to calm her down, something Kira is grateful for.

After that, the thoughts become more private, and Derek learns that they’ve recently entered into a relationship themselves. He tries to give them some privacy and finally focuses on Stiles, who has been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, something a couple of his friends are growing worried about.

Stiles is freaking out over whether he’s bothered Derek in the mornings, wonders whether it would be stupid to try to strike up conversation. However, that isn’t the only thing he thinks about. He wonders how long it will take Scott and Allison to proposition Isaac for a threesome. He observes Erica and Boyd together, stomping down a twinge of jealousy when he notices how well they work together. Stiles is constantly surrounded by supernaturally adorable couples. Why should one more bother him?

Stiles glances at Derek, wondering if he’s single. Stiles wants to say something, but he doesn’t know where to start.

Derek considers speaking to him. It would be easy, and honestly he’s starting to feel bad at this point.

So it surprises him when he hears the sound of his older sister’s thoughts.

_It seems like everyone’s getting along._

Derek glances up at his sister, but she’s engaged in conversation with Scott. For a second he thinks there’s something wrong with her bracelet. Nothing like that’s happened before, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

_We’ve already made plans to hang out as a group later this week. You should join us._

Now Derek is thoroughly confused. The thoughts are clearly directed at him. Why doesn’t she just say something out loud?

_I know you won’t join us if you have to hear their thoughts the entire time. I have some extra charms Deaton sent me recently. They’re good people. We could tell them your secret. You could have finally make some new friends._

He hears her thoughts cut off as she slips her bracelet back on.

Derek’s mind is reeling. He hasn’t told a new person his secret in years. He’s heard all their thoughts, knows they would likely take it in stride, but Derek can’t help but think of Stiles, his mortification at knowing Derek can smell his arousal. What would he think if he knew Derek has heard the thoughts behind the arousal?

He’d probably hate Derek. Derek wouldn’t blame him.

But Derek looks around and sees how well everyone is getting along. Kira is laughing at one of Erica’s jokes, and Cora is hanging off of one of Lydia’s stories. It’s clear from the other pack’s thoughts that they plan on sticking around. Derek doesn’t want to lie to them, doesn’t want to force the rest of his pack to keep secrets from their new friends.

He pushes his chair back and stands up, looks Laura in the eye, and says, “Tell them.”

Then he turns around and walks out, not caring about how rude he just was.

He walks down the hallway to his apartment, locking himself in his room as he tries not to panic.

*****

He hasn’t moved when fifteen minutes later someone comes banging on the front door to his apartment.

He opens the door and is confronted with a very angry and nervous Stiles. Derek winces at the sight.

There’s silence. Real, actual silence. Derek glances down at Stiles’ wrist and notices the new charm there. He moves aside and beckons for Stiles to follow him into the living room. They sit awkwardly for a few moments, Derek desperately missing the sound of Stiles’ thoughts.

“You know, for a few minutes, I thought your sister was joking, but then my entire pack assured me that she was being completely serious. My first instinct was to pack my bags up and move back to Beacon Hills, say goodbye to New York for good, but I know I won’t be able to sleep without asking. Can you hear thoughts even when you’ve got your headphones on?”

Derek sees a way out. He could lie. Say he tuned Stiles out and didn’t know about Stiles’ crush until tonight. It would be a stretch, but Stiles seems just desperate enough to believe him.

Derek’s body betrays him because before he knows it he’s nodding.

“Fuck. Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Stiles says, sounding appalled, and Derek has to pause because he’d been prepared to apologize and beg forgiveness. An apology is the last thing he expected to hear from Stiles.

“Wait, what?”

“I mean, my god, the things I’ve thought around you. I basically assaulted your mind with my thoughts. How awkward that must have been. I really am sorry. But rest assured, I will not be forgetting this charm anytime soon. You won't have to listen to me anymore. I just hope you can forgive me,” Stiles says, sounding completely earnest with more than a twinge of embarrassment, like he’d rather be anywhere but here, reminding Derek of all the thoughts he’d overheard.

“What?” Derek repeats, because he really doesn’t understand how Stiles isn’t furious. For some reason, he feels like it would it would be a good idea to explain it to Stiles. “Stiles, no. You don’t have be sorry about your thoughts. You had no way of knowing.”

“But still! I mean, to force you to hear all those things—”

Oh. Okay. Stiles really doesn’t get it, thinks Derek was just a passive victim in all this.

“Stiles, no. You didn't force me to do anything. I—I chose to listen to your thoughts. I probably could have tuned them out if I had tried.” Why is he admitting this, again? He really doesn’t know.

He watches as Stiles goes from guilty to confused.

“You mean you wanted to listen to what I was thinking every morning?”

Derek feels his face grow hot in embarrassment as he nods, thinking that this is when Stiles will get it and grow angry. But of course, the opposite happens, because apparently despite listening in on his thoughts for the past few weeks, Derek really doesn’t know Stiles at all

“So what did you think?” Stiles asks with a grin. Derek stares at him, waiting for him to explain what exactly he’s asking. “Did you enjoy listening in on my fantasies? Care to stage a re-enactment?” Stiles remains smiling for a moment before he cringes. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. That was lame. It was so lame, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I swear I’m not always this big of a loser." He's quiet for a moment before he goes on, "Okay, so that might be a lie. Shit, you probably already know it’s a lie. You’ve read my mind. You know all about how lame I am. Feel free to cut in and save me from my rambling at any moment, by the way.”

“Stiles,” Derek says, a small smile forcing its way onto his face when Stiles stops and stares at him, eyes wide like he needs to take in every minuscule detail of the moment. “I enjoyed them. But I actually think reality might end up being better.”

A grin slowly starts to spread across Stiles' face. He's full-out grinning when he says, “Well, I think we should put your theory to the test.”

Reality, of course, does end up being way better, especially when Stiles takes his charm off and lets Derek hear all of his thoughts. Derek uses his ability to make the experience everything Stiles wants, reveling in the way Stiles’ thoughts go haywire when Derek gets something just right.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are most definitely appreciated.


End file.
